Finding Frankie Review

So I’ve heard that running floods your brain with endorphins, creating a “runner’s high” of sorts, but does that still happen if you’re sprinting away from creepy animatronics in a twisted parkour game show? SUPERLOU’s protagonist of Finding Frankie could probably answer that question.

In this movement-focused mascot horror game, you play through the first-person perspective of a contestant, one of the unlucky souls who found an invitation stuffed inside a Frankie’s Fruit Flakes cereal box. You’re set to compete against three others, racing through Parkour Palace’s wild obstacle courses with the chance to earn a $5,000,000 prize if you finish first. However, when you’re about to sprint away from the starting line, the titular Frankie bursts through a door and murders every contestant but you. From then on, you’re not running for money — you’re running for your life.

In a sea of titles attempting to recapture the success of Five Nights at Freddy's, Finding Frankie’s unique premise stood out to me. The fast-paced jumping and sliding (à la Mirror's Edge) diverge from the slower, puzzle-based gameplay that populates the niche. Though it’s not quite scary — a quality many mascot horrors struggle to deliver — the sinister enemy designs do feel like childhood cartoons reimagined as dark nightmares, adding a good deal of contrast from the game’s bright colour palette while simultaneously complementing the amusement park-like levels.

Whether you’re being chased by an enemy or trying to activate power breakers to open a door, you’ll have plenty of interesting environmental pieces to run, jump, and slide through. You can even do a bit of wall jumping and fling yourself off bars, which becomes vital in some sections where stepping on the ground will summon Frankie to your location (an instant death if you don’t hide properly).

For most of my playthrough, the parkouring and exploration were enjoyable, but there are a few pitfalls that hinder the fun early on: the lack of an actual tutorial section left me with a bored first impression; it led to many deaths since I had to trial-and-error my way around Frankie after he killed the other contestants. You don’t get a lot of time to figure out where to go after he appears, so you’re pretty much guaranteed to die just seconds after you begin. I didn’t expect Finding Frankie to slam on the brakes right after giving me the green light to go, and the shock value wasn’t enough to supplement the dip in fun that five consecutive deaths caused.

That same halting feeling came again when I reached the first real obstacle room, in which the enemy’s presence feels significantly oppressive for a newcomer to the game’s controls and pacing. Since every death comes with a long death animation and loading screen, dying feels extra tedious, especially when you’re barely getting a feel for everything. Some of the tedium eased up as I improved, but the controls consistently felt like they were working against me. Some movements, such as jumping and grabbing a bar, were clunky to carry out. On the PlayStation, your grab button is the square, and you’ll just have to trust me when I say it’s awkward to use.

That said, my desire to keep going never diminished, and every new location felt fresh as I progressed. My favourite level had to be the Hotline Maze for its dark halls and night-sky aesthetic, and for the way it expands the gameplay a bit, as you get to use your new companion, Deputy Duck, to highlight interactable items through walls — a much-welcomed tool. Plus, the little quacks helped ease the tension of dodging a frantic enemy.

To my surprise, the voice acting was a big highlight of Finding Frankie. The speaker over the intercom nails that uncanny tone — you can just hear the corner-to-corner smile while he comments on all the needless violence and deaths. There’s also the strained voice of Henry Hotline, who delivers a compelling performance and does a great job at sounding like he’s on the brink of a breakdown.

As I mentioned earlier, if you’re looking for scares, Finding Frankie will leave you wanting, but if you’re looking for a game to speedrun, it’s a good candidate. The timer at the bottom of the screen and the leaderboard add a level of competition, and the environment design lets you get creative with optimal routes. The clunky movement and fast enemies can feel unforgiving at times, but it does add an extra layer of difficulty, which can be a positive for those looking for that additional challenge.

Finding Frankie left me with mixed emotions by the end. It’s quite short, as a casual run will only take two to three hours, and it could definitely benefit from tighter controls. On the other hand, it does offer a unique take on mascot horror amid many FNaF-likes, and it becomes a bit more fun once you get used to the awkward button-mapping. All in all, escaping the Parkour Palace is a journey for those who enjoy a challenge and/or love cutting down their times through trial-and-error (otherwise, there’s not much replay value). It also puts parkour first, and scares second, so you’ll likely need to find your spooky fix elsewhere.